High Yield Bond Issuance Sets Record In September At $47.65B

U.S. high-yield bond issuance set a monthly record in September, logging $47.65 billion in volume, besting the prior monthly peak of $46.8 billion in September 2012, according to S&P Capital IQ/LCD. The surge in issuance is courtesy a host of hefty deals, including a $2.15 billion offering backing a Caesar's Entertainment debt repurchase, which priced today.

With this month's activity, year-to-date high yield bond issuance totals roughly $255 billion, easily topping the $243 billion seen at this point last year. The full-year total for 2012 was $346 billion, a record.

The surge in issuance is accompanied by renewed investor enthusiasm. Retail cash inflows into U.S. high yield funds more than doubled over the past week, totaling an impressive $3.1 billion, according to Lipper. That's the largest inflow in 10 weeks, bringing the year-to-date number closer to the black, at an outflow of $2.5 billion, according to LCD's Matt Fuller, citing Lipper. That's down considerably from just a few weeks ago.